Police: mother of toddler found dead found in psych ward

DETROIT (WJBK) - Police have located the mother of the little boy found dead in a Detroit apartment Wednesday.

Deanna Minor  was being held in a psychiatric ward at a nearby hospital.

The aunt of 3-year-old Aaron Minor is trying to make sense of her nephew's death.

"I've been, just me and my mother since last night, trying to figure out what happened," Kyra Mylum said.

A maintenance worker found his body Wednesday afternoon inside an apartment on Trumbull in Detroit and called police.

Investigators say the boy's body was badly decomposed and say he had been dead for several days.

"What could have possibly happened?" Mylum said. "I can't fathom, I'm trying to get to the bottom of it."

Police had been searching for the boy's mother, 28-year-old Deanna Minor since Wednesday night and found her on Thursday.

"Severe depression, severe depression," Mylum said. "She's had states where she has been institutionalized before for depression."

Minor, who has three other children, is currently at a psych ward in Wyandotte.

"I don't know if the mother realizes that the child is dead yet because she's in a crisis center Downriver," Dolunt said. "But it's my understanding it's the second time she's been picked up the last couple of days for being a crisis center. I'm not sure how long the child had been in the room."

Police say the room at the apartment was in disarray and right now the cause of death has not been determined. Officers believe Minor was responsible looking after her son.

"She could have walked out thinking the child was sleeping," Dolunt said. "She could have told someone, again we don't know because we can't talk to her because of HIPPA laws, she's in a crisis center. The father from our understanding is incarcerated, so he had no idea."

FOX 2: "Do you recall a time where she has left any of her children alone for a long period of time?"

"No. never, never like that," Mylum said.

The aunt says although her sister may suffer from a mental illness, she doesn't recall a time where Deanna Minor harmed any of her children, and the aunt says she was working to get permanent custody of her nieces and nephews.

"I had contact with her previous social worker that had information on my nieces and nephew, she has twin girls and another son," Mylum said.

The aunt said she doesn't know where the children are right now in foster care - more questions that remain unanswered.

The aunt has set up a GoFundMe account to help pay for the child's funeral. CLICK HERE for the site.

"Everywhere he went, he brought joy," she said. "Wherever he went, he was a light. my baby. i can't put into words how hard this has hit me. it's hard for me to talk about. it's almost unreal."

Police say it's difficult lay out criminal charges because of the mother's mental state, and they're waiting to learn more about Aaron Minor's cause of death.